Monday, June 14, 2010

The Poetry Doctor

It's the wizardry of the internet: You're browsing online and something catches your eye so you click over to someplace else which leads you someplace else and someplace else, and before you know it, an hour has dissolved in the blink of an eye and you've taken this crazy escapade through time and space and discovered the most marvelous things.

I call it "falling down the rabbit hole."

My most recent virtual adventure resulted in the discovery of a delightful compendium from Penguin called "Poems for Life" edited by a woman named Laura Barber (a.k.a. "The Poetry Doctor").

Inspired by Shakespeare's seven ages of a human life, it's a collection of some of the best-loved poems in English and is divided into sections on childhood, growing up, making a living, finding love, raising a family, getting older, and approaching death.

Of course I want the book (when have I ever seen a book I didn't want?), but what really grabbed my attention was "The Poetry Doctor's" column beneath it, in which she responds to personal queries with a fine-honed prescription of classic poetry. Really, it's amazing how modern-day angst can be eased with a lashing of old wisdom.

I include one letter for your enjoyment. To read the others, click here.

Is Ogden Nash's "Reflection on Ice-Breaking" your motto? When you look at the carousing scenes in Byron's "Don Juan", does it all seem strangely familiar? Could Coleridge's vision in "Kubla Khan" of the wild-eyed eccentric who has "drunk the milk of paradise" bring back memories of Friday night? If so, then you're probably just nudging the desirable limit.

For a poem whose mood matches the muffled daze of a hangover (and the insistent bark of the hair-of-the-dog remedy)...

...take a look at Keat's "Ode to a Nightingale", and to get you in the mood for daintier indulgences...

The Poetry Doctor's prescriptions only exist on the Penguin Books "Poems for Life" page and nowhere else. That's not enough, I say. I don't know about you, but I think the right poem at the right time can do most people a world of good. I absolutely believe in the power of verse to transform moods, improve well-being and solve those tricky situations in life that leave you with a well-heeled foot in your mouth. Egads, by the powers of Calliope, the goddess of poetry, can't this woman please start a blog?

I also believe in the power of a verse to change ones mood or alter their outlook on such day. I often gather great inspiration and a rosier outlook from all the great posts by fellow bloggers such as this amazing post you have done. I think this patient needed it to Lisa.

I'm a college English teacher and I always teach research as "going down the rabbit hole." Sometimes it's the mad hatter and sometimes it's a rabbit hole. The internet analogy is much the same. You can go and click and go and click and sometimes it's an interesting adventure. Sometimes, though . . .

Thanks for this lovely recommendation. My dear, I just picked up a book at the second hand shop When we were young: Memories of childhood for £1.00. Can you imagine such a pretty book worth merely a pound?

I'm with 24 Corners - your blog is one of my rabbit holes - it's late and I sat down to check one thing online and here I am 45 minutes later. It was worth it though to find your blog and the wonderful poetry book. I'm adding to my 'must-have' list.Cheers,Leah

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